Southern California quarterback Kedon Slovis (9) runs during the second half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, celebrates with teammate USC running back Vavae Malepeai after Brown scored a touchdown late in the second quarter against Stanford in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

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USC wide receiver Devon Williams, right, pushes away Stanford safety Malik Antoine as he runs along the sideline for a big gain in the first quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown dives into the end zone for a touchdown late in the second quarter against Stanford in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, celebrates with wide receiver Drake London after Brown scored a touch down against Stanford late in the second quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Munir McClain, left, catches a pass before being hit by Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo in the first quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Kedon Slovis in the second quarter against Stanford in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, beats Stanford cornerback Obi Eboh, center, and another defender to make a touchdown catch in the second quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC cornerback Olaijah Griffin (2) steps in front of a Stanford receiver to break up a pass in the end zone in the second quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, celebrates with offensive tackle Jalen McKenzie after scoring a touchdown against Stanford late in the second quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

Stanford running back Cameron Scarlett, left, muscles his way past USC wide receiver Drake London, center, and quarterback Jack Sears, right, to score a touch down in the second quarter in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Drake London, left, finds an open field after catching a pass to gain big yardage before being brought down by Stanford safety Kendall Williamson, right, in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, right, celebrates his second quarter touchdown against Stanford with teammates in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 7, 2019. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

Southern California quarterback Kedon Slovis throws a pass against Stanford during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Southern California quarterback Kedon Slovis (9) runs during the second half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

LOS ANGELES — As USC ran out onto the field to warm up for its Pac-12 opener against No. 23 Stanford, one player stood at the entrance to the Coliseum field. He high-fived anyone who came within reach, and hugged any teammate who paused for a moment.

Only when all of his fellow Trojans had taken the field did freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis turn around and get to work.

And get to work he did. Slovis completed 84.8 percent of his passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start as USC (2-0, 1-0 in Pac-12 play) beat Stanford 45-20.

“It doesn’t show how good I am, but how good our team is,” Slovis demurred.

Slovis, the unlikely starting quarterback for USC after JT Daniels’ season-ending knee injury a week ago, was set for a battle of the backups as Stanford QB K.J. Costello missed the game with a head injury.

But whereas his Stanford counterpart, former five-star recruit Davis Mills, was clearly rattled by his first career start, Slovis was the definition of poised. He took risks with his passes, but never was in danger of being intercepted, instead putting the ball where only his receivers could grab them.

And grab them they did. Tyler Vaughns made several eye-widening receptions along the sidelines as he caught five balls for 106 yards. Sophomore receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown got in on the fun with eight receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns, including a 39-yard score in which he got hit by two Stanford defenders.

“There’s a large margin of error with those guys,” Slovis said modestly.

By the time the game was over, Slovis had set two new USC records. He was the first Trojan to throw for two touchdowns in his first career start, and broke the USC record for the most passing yards by a true freshman in his first start.

It wasn’t a totally clean game for USC. There were no painful gaffes like the double-No. 7 snafu against Fresno State, but the Trojans’ first two penalties were both illegal-hands-to-the-face infractions that extended scoring drives for Stanford (1-1, 0-1). Then there was a Velus Jones fumble on a kickoff return that gave Stanford a short field.

And there were times where it didn’t feel like Stanford didn’t need much help to move the ball. After a 60-yard kickoff return by Connor Wedington, the Cardinal took seven plays to reach the end zone and take a 7-3 lead.

But the defense tightened up when it needed to. The unit defined the “bend, don’t break” cliche during the third quarter.

Twice, Stanford drove deep into USC territory, converting on third down multiple times to keep the ball moving. But both times, USC held Stanford in place with strong pass defense. Both times, Stanford missed its field goal attempt, the second blocked by Austin Jackson.

“We really thought in the first half we had some gap integrity issues. We cleaned that up at halftime,” head coach Clay Helton said. “Then I thought we got to the quarterback better in the second half.”

Then, Slovis delivered the dagger drive to seal the win. It started with a shovel pass to Vavae Malepeai for a short gain. Then, clearly confident by this point in the third quarter, Slovis threw a difficult pass to Michael Pittman Jr., who made the 31-yard reception over the defender’s helmet to give USC first-and-goal.

Malepeai punched it in on the next play to give USC a two-score lead. The next drive, Greg Johnson intercepted Mills, who finished 22-for-36 for 237 yards, a touchdown and the interception. Malepeai finished the next USC drive with his second touchdown.

Adam Grosbard covers USC athletics for the Orange County Register and Southern California News Group. He's previously covered SMU athletics and the WNBA for the Dallas Morning News and high school sports for the Long Beach Press-Telegram. A Pasadena native, he currently lives in the South Bay.

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